Sam Horn - Intrigue

Thursday, November 29, 2007

What's the 5th Worst Branding Mistake Businesses Make?

Their Name and Slogan Aren't Purposeful

Every year several dozen companies pay millions to place a 30-60 second ad during the Super Bowl.

Some of those ads produce big laughs. But if, one day later, you can't remember the company or the product that was featured in that ad that made you howl, that wasn't a purposeful ad.

If you want your brand to POP! out, it's got to be Purposeful, Original and Pithy. As ad genius Bill Bernbach said, "Dullness will not sell your product; neither will irrelevant brilliance."

I’m always on the lookout for shining examples of organizations and individuals who are standing out from their crowd – for all the right reasons.

I can think of no finer example than 13 year old Jack McShane who is bringing “lawn and order” to New Orleans City Park. After Hurricane Katrina flooded this formerly beautiful park, the city abandoned it. They had no funds to keep it up and personnel were too busy re-building infrastructure.

Jack said, “It bothered me that it didn’t look good. Nobody was taking care of it, so I decided I had to.”

Jack took his family’s lawn-mower out of the garage, walked across the street and got to work. People started thanking him for his efforts, so he recruited other “Mow-rons” to help out.

Their original slogan, 'The Mow-Rons are in City Park, the idiots are in City Hall,'" was intended to be edgy. After awhile, Jack decided it was inappropriate and counter-productive, so he changed it.

The result? A perfect POP! name. What does this fine young man now call his grass-roots organization? Weeding by Example.

As a result of that smile-inducing name, he's been interviewed by Katie Couric, featured on CNN, and thousands of people are contributing to his worthy cause. Now that's a purposeful brand!

Do you have recent examples of companies, causes and creations that have POP’d out for all the right reasons? Submit your nominations. If they make our POP! Hall of Fame, we'll send an autographd copy of POP! (which Edelman Sr. VP Marilynn Mobley says, "If you liked Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, you'll like Sam Horn's POP!")

Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, November 24, 2007

What's the 4th Worst Branding Mistake Organizations Make?

They Can’t Explain Their Brand in 15 Seconds or Less

“My grandfather actually invented Cliff Notes. It was in 1952, and he was . . .
well, to make a long story short.” - Steven Wright


Remember when Andy Warhol said everyone would get 15 minutes of fame? In today’s rush-rush world, we don’t have that long to get people’s attention. We have about 15 seconds.

If you can’t quickly explain your brand in a way people get it and want it, they will move on. They are simply too busy to give us “the time of their day” unless we can quickly convince them we're worth their valuable attention.

That’s why it’s crucial to “Cliff Note” your brand's story into a concise, compelling Elevator Speech that captures interest in what you have to offer . . . in under 15 seconds.

Sound like an impossible dream? Not if you link your unfamiliar brand to something with which people are familiar and fond.

The secret is not to try to explain your brand. The more you try to explain what your brand does, the more confused potential customers will become. Instead, ask yourself, “What is my brand like . . . that my target audience already likes?’

I learned the power of this concept while in Denver for a speaking engagement with my teen-aged sons. We had a night free, so we went downstairs to the hotel concierge and asked if he had any suggestions for a fun night out.

He took one look at Tom and Andrew and said, “You’ve got to go to D & B’s.”

We were from Maui at the time and had no idea what he was talking about. We asked, “What’s D & B’s.”

He did NOT try to explain what D & B’s was. Imagine if he had said, “Well, it’s kind of like a restaurant, but it’s also a sports bar and they’ve got video games and TV’s and sometimes guys go there to watch football or play pool. But families go there too to play carnival games, kind of like an indoor amusement park.”

We would have looked at him in consternation and said, “Huh?” It’s just TMI (Too Much Information.) The longer he talked, the more baffled we would have become.

Instead, he thought about it for a moment and then smiled and said simply, “It’s like a . . . Chuck E. Cheese for adults.”

Perfect. Eight words and we knew exactly what it was and wanted to go there. By comparing D & B’s (something new) to Chuck E. Cheese (something we knew), he “told and sold” their brand in one succinct sentence. They should have put him on commission.

Do you have an elevator speech for your brand?

Remember, don’t try to explain it. Ask yourself, “What is my brand like - that these potential customers like?” If you compare your idea, company, product or service to something with which they’re familiar and fond, the light will go on in their eyes and their eyebrows will rise. That’s the way to win buy-in in 15 seconds or less.

Want to know the other 4 branding mistakes organizations make -- and how to avoid them? Keep checking this blog and I'll share them in the days ahead.

Into instant gratification? Email us at info@SamHorn.com with "8 Biggest Branding Mistakes" in the subject heading and we'll email you the entire article you can use in your organization's newsletter.

Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, November 22, 2007

#3 Branding Mistake Organizations Make

The Third Worst Branding Mistake Organizations Make?

Their Brand Name is Hard to Pronounce


What do Google, Roomba, Boppy, Snuba and Yahoo all have in common?

They all are fun, easy-to-say-and-remember names that have made their companies millions.

What you call your business is hugely important. If people don’t immediately understand it, they’ll move on.

That’s why it’s crucial to coin a catchy brand name that stops people in their tracks and makes their eyebrows go UP.

What’s this about making people’s eyebrows go up? It is a tangible way to check the commercial viability of your brand name – anytime, anywhere, for free.

Simply tell people your name . . and watch their eyebrows. If their eyebrows knit or furrow, it’s back to the drawing board. It means they’re perplexed. And if people find your name perplexing, you’ve got a problem.

Why? People are way too busy to take the time to figure out something that’s confusing. If they don't instantly get your name, YOU won't get their business.

The Eyebrow Test is an almost infallible way to test market the appeal of your brand. When people are intrigued, their eyebrows go up. It’s a visceral almost involuntary indication of curiosity. It’s the mind’s way of saying, “Hmm, this is interesting, tell me more.”

Do people "get" your brand name the first time they hear or see it? If so, good for you.

If not, you might want to purchase a copy of POP! (which Ken Blanchard says is a "fun, lively guide to getting heard, getting results, getting remembered") at www.SamHornPOP.com, and turn to Chapters 16-18 to discover how you can coin an easy-to-pronounce-and-remember brand name that makes eyebrows and sales go UP.

Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, November 17, 2007

The 2nd Biggest Branding Mistake Organizations Make

Marketing Messages are Way Too Serious

Art Buchwald said, “I learned when I made people laugh, they liked me.”

Study your signage, web copy, and ads. Do they make you laugh or smile? If not, they could be costing you sales.

Inject some humor into your marketing to increase likability.

When Coca-Cola launched Coke Zero, their goal was to convince consumers who didn’t like the Diet Coke taste that this new option was the real thing.

Their ads, which cleverly make that point, have generated a double-digit growth in sales – which constitutes a LOT of money in the $90 billion beverage industry.

A USA Today article lauded their success in a half-page article which pictured their ad, “Tastes so much like Coke, our lawyers have contacted our lawyers” with the flattering caption, “It’s got buzz. Coke Zero ads have scored with a sense of humor.”

Vegetarian alert. Just because you don’t eat meat doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving turkey. Thanks to Turtle Island Foods, you can have a Tofurky (and 270,000 people are expected to do just that by season’s end.) As founder Seth Tibbott says, “We’re fine with the fact that people think it’s funny and get a smile out of it. People remember jokes.”

Saddled with a difficult nickname, the Sioux City, Iowa airport considered asking the FAA if they could change it. In a bold move, they decided to capitalize on their three-letter identifier, SUX, instead of apologize for it. Their new marketing campaign FlyingSUX and its associated line of FlySUX t-shirts and caps have become such a hit, airlines have added flights. “Now the whole world knows about us,” boasts Airport Director Rick McElroy.

The city of Cincinnati understands the power of laughing at yourself. It has an annual Running of the Wieners as part of its annual Octoberfest-Zinzinnati festival. Daschunds wearing hot-dog-bun costumes race across a downtown square to win money for charity. The motto for this popular event? Buns of Squeal.

Is your business not making as much money as it could? Rework your marketing messages to get a laugh - get a sale.

Labels: , , ,

Friday, November 16, 2007

8 Biggest Branding Mistakes Businesses Make

Is your business not as successful as it could be? Not as profitable as you'd like?

Perhaps your company is committing one of the 8 Cardinal Sins of Branding.

#1 Branding Mistake Businesses Make:

Marketing Messages are Way Too L-O-N-G

Did you know the top ten marketing slogans (as selected by Advertising Age magazine) of the last fifty years are ALL under 7 words long?

Why? The mind can only keep 7 bits of information in short term memory.

If your marketing slogan is longer than that, chances are people can't remember it. And if people can't remember your name and slogan, why will they hire you, how will they find you, recommend you?

Follow the example of winners Nike ("Just do it"), Avis ("We try harder") and Wheaties "(Breakfast of Champions") and keep it brief so people don't give you grief.

Comedian Jonathan Winters said, "I have a photographic memory. I just haven't developed it yet."

Most people don't have a photographic memory. If you want your branding message to stick, develop a marketing message that's easy to remember . . . which means keeping it under seven words.

Check back in two days for #2 Branding Mistake Businesses Make

Labels: , ,